What Is a Walk-In Tub and How Does It Work?

A walk-in tub is a complete bathtub built around a sealed, low-threshold door, a built-in seat and grab bars, so the bather opens the door, steps over a low lip and sits down instead of climbing over a tub wall and lowering to the floor. The door closes on an integrated gasket with a multi-latch gear and shaft mechanism, so the tub fills after the door is closed and drains before it is opened. In the Ella's Bubbles lineup this is exactly what an accessible bathtub means, as explained in What is an accessible bathtub, and who are walk-in tubs designed for?, and this page covers how the tub works from entry to drain and who it is built for.

The Parts That Make It a Walk-In Tub

• A watertight door. It swings open like any other door and closes on an integrated gasket with a multi-latch gear and shaft mechanism. Ella does not offer a lift-up or drop-down door; the low threshold itself is the accessibility feature.
• A low step-in threshold. The Capri, for example, has a 3.5-inch threshold, far lower than the wall of a standard tub.
• A built-in seat at a comfortable height, so the bather sits rather than lowering down to the floor of the tub.
• Grab bars placed for entry and exit.
• A fast-fill faucet and a gravity dual drain designed to work together, because filling and draining happen with the bather inside.
• An acrylic shell on a rustproof stainless steel frame, with adjustable leveling legs.
• Optional therapies: hydro massage, air massage, a heated seat and chromatherapy. Most models also come as a soaker with no jets.

How a Walk-In Tub Works, Step by Step

1. Open the door. Depending on the model it swings inward toward the seat or outward into the room.
2. Hold the grab bar and step over the threshold onto the textured floor. A wheelchair user on a Transfer model slides across the seat instead of stepping.
3. Sit on the molded seat.
4. Close and latch the door. The gasket and the latches make the seal, which is why the water stays in.
5. Fill the tub from the faucet. Ella tubs are drilled at the factory for the faucet set chosen on the order, and the video on this page shows the 2-piece and 5-piece fast-fill faucets and the thermostatic faucet installed on different tubs.
6. Bathe, and run the hydro massage, air massage or heated seat if the tub was ordered with them.
7. Open the drain and let the tub empty. The gravity dual drain is designed for this part of the routine.
8. Open the door and step out over the same low threshold.

The sequence is the whole difference from a regular bathtub. A regular tub is an open basin you climb into and out of over a high wall. A walk-in tub is entered through a door at floor level, so the bather is seated before the water arrives and the water is gone before the bather stands.

The Step-In Threshold Explained

The step-in threshold is the low lip you cross at the door, measured from the finished floor. On Ella tubs it runs roughly 3.5 to 7 inches depending on the model and how the drain is set up, compared with the 18 to 22 inch wall you would swing a leg over on a standard bathtub. Published drawing values include the Monaco at 3 5/8 inches and the Mobile at about 3 3/4 inches. The height is really the height of the tub floor above the bathroom floor, and two things move it: a recessed drain lets the tub sit lower, and a different leveling leg setting raises or lowers the frame. The figure on the spec sheet drawing is the starting point, and your installation decides the final height. What Is the Step-In Threshold on a Walk-In Tub? lists the figures by model and explains how far a tub can be lowered.

Who Walk-In Tubs Are Designed for

Walk-in tubs are designed for bathers who want an easier entry than a tub wall allows, for wheelchair users, and for people who need extra width or length.

• Wheelchair users. The Transfer family, the Transfer26, Transfer30, Transfer32, Transfer60 and TransferXXL, uses an oversized L-shaped outward-swing door that leaves no sidewall beside the seat, so a wheelchair user can slide straight across. The lightweight aluminum L-shaped door has two latches and allows toilet clearance of up to 21 inches in height. The Transfer26 is 26 inches wide by 52 inches long with a 19 inch seat, designed for petite to average bathers and smaller bathrooms. The family is offered as a soaking tub with no jets or with therapy packages, as covered in Which wheelchair accessible walk-in tubs come with jets and a heated seat?.
• Bathers who need extra width. The TransferXXL is a wheelchair accessible, bariatric walk-in tub measuring 36 by 55 inches.
• Bathers who want to stretch out or sink deeper. The Longer, at 27 by 60 inches, has an extended seat area for stretching the legs out. The Deluxe, at 30 by 55 inches, is a deeper soaking tub where the bather sits more upright.
• Couples. Ella's two-seater models have two separate seats so two people can bathe together.

Three Door Styles on Video

The door is the part that changes most from model to model. The brushed stainless steel inward-swing door with frosted tempered glass detaches so hard-to-reach places are easier to clean. The acrylic outward-swing U-shaped door is made of high-impact composite with three latches on a gear and shaft mechanism. The lightweight aluminum L-shaped outward-swing door on the Transfer tubs has two latches and clears a toilet. An inward door is held shut by the water once the tub fills, while an outward door leaves nothing to step around inside the tub. The Elite uses the stainless steel in-swing door, the Zen uses an acrylic door, and the Big4One uses a U-shape door.

Can an Existing Bathtub Be Converted?

No. Ella manufactures complete walk-in bathtubs and does not cut a walk-through opening, add a door or gate, or alter an existing bathtub or tub and shower combination. There is no Ella cut-in kit or conversion product. A walk-in tub's door, seal, frame and threshold are engineered together, and every tub is assembled and tested to order before it ships, so none of that can be added to a standard tub after the fact. Can Ella Cut a Walk-Through Opening or Add a Door to My Existing Bathtub? explains why a purpose-built tub is the answer instead. The good news is that most Ella walk-in tubs go into the same three-wall alcove your current tub occupies, so you keep the room's layout and plumbing locations, with an extension panel filling the gap when the tub is shorter than the alcove.

Choosing Among the Models

Every Ella model comes in white, and the details that vary are seating, door type, size and depth. Two-seater models are built for two people, the Transfer family is built for wheelchair access, and the single-seat models differ by width, length and door swing. Comparing Ella's Bubbles Walk-In Tub Models walks through the lineup. Because each tub is assembled and tested to order, the faucet, the therapies and the door side are all set when you order, so have the bather's needs and the room's measurements ready when you talk with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850.

Watch: Luxury Faucet Options for Your Walk-In Tub, Voted Best/Safest 2020 | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How Do You Use a Walk-In Bathtub Step by Step?
• How fast will my walk-in tub fill? Fast-fill faucet expectations and operation
• How Fast Do Walk-In Tubs Drain and What Speeds It Up?

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